Seoul to Designate Subway Station Entrances as No-Smoking Areas

In April 2016, Seoul Metropolitan Government will designate additional no-smoking areas throughout the city, including 1,662 subway station entrances and five roads with eight or more lanes, including Sejong-daero. In particular, smoking will be banned within 10 meters of subway station entrances as well as on sidewalks along roads with eight or more lanes.

In January 2015, Seoul Metropolitan Government designated all restaurants in Seoul as no-smoking areas. Regarding the upcoming expansion of no-smoking areas, the government will revise the plan for the maintenance of both indoor and outdoor no-smoking areas in preparation for its implementation in April 2016.

The prohibition of indoor smoking, which Seoul Metropolitan Government began to pursue in 2012, is now in its final phase thanks to the active participation of Seoul citizens and strengthened administrative power of the city government. Therefore, the government’s policy is now focused on expanding the no-smoking areas to places that are frequently used by many Seoul citizens on daily basis. These places include roadside bus stops and school zones, which will be designated this year, and subway station entrances and major roads, which are expected to be designated as no-smoking areas next year.

Currently, a total of 234,244 areas, including government offices, Internet cafes, restaurants, and other public indoor facilities, as well as roadside bus stops, areas surrounding daycare centers and kindergartens, and urban parks, have been designated as no-smoking areas. In the last three years, the number of indoor no-smoking areas has tripled.